This thematic assessment was undertaken with four principle objectives:
1. Assess the size and scale of ‘localised grooming’ in proportion to the overall known picture of sexual exploitation
of children under the age of 18 in the UK
2. Establish any patterns of offending profile or victim experience
3. Assess the effectiveness of processes which might help identify such offending or potential victims
4. Recommend action to be taken to reduce the risk in future, including any urgent action that becomes apparent.
The assessment was aimed to determine the known extent of child sexual exploitation, based on intelligence and information held by relevant agencies, and to determine the proportion of cases which fit the profile of ‘localised grooming’. Therefore, it represents an audit of the current knowledge of the scale of child sexual exploitation among those police forces, LSCBs, children’s services and service providers who responded to the request for information.